Frank Cignetti Sr. (October 8, 1937 – September 10, 2022) was an

American football American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular American football field, field with goalposts at e ...

player and coach. He served as the head football coach at

West Virginia University West Virginia University (WVU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university with its main campus in Morgantown, West Virginia, United States. Its other campuses are those of the West Virginia University Ins ...

from 1976 to 1979 and at

Indiana University of Pennsylvania Indiana University of Pennsylvania (IUP) is a Public university, public research university in Indiana, Pennsylvania, United States. The university is accredited by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education and Carnegie Classification o ...

(IUP) from 1986 to 2005, compiling a career

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

record of 199–77–1. Cignetti led the IUP Indians to the title game of the NCAA Division II Football Championship in 1990 and 1993. He was inducted into the

College Football Hall of Fame The College Football Hall of Fame is a hall of fame and interactive Tourist attraction, attraction devoted to college football, college American football. The National Football Foundation (NFF) founded the Hall in 1951 to immortalize the players ...

as a coach in 2013.

Early life and education

Cignetti was born on October 8, 1937. He attended the

(IUP) and played

and

college basketball College basketball is basketball that is played by teams of Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. In the Higher education in the United States, United States, colleges and universities are governed by collegiate athle ...

for the IUP Indians. As an

end End, END, Ending, or ENDS may refer to: End Mathematics *End (category theory) * End (topology) * End (graph theory) * End (group theory) (a subcase of the previous) * End (endomorphism) Sports and games *End (gridiron football) *End, a division ...

on the football team, Cignetti was a

National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) established in 1940, is a college athletics association for higher education, colleges and universities in North America. Most colleges and universities in the NAIA offer athletic schola ...

All-America The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

n. Cignetti graduated with a

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six years ...

in 1960. He earned a

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional prac ...

from IUP in 1965.

Coaching career

Cignetti's first coaching position was as an assistant for Leechburg High School's football team. He became Leechburg's head coach and coached them to the

Western Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic League The Western Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic League (WPIAL, pronounced ) is an interscholastic athletic association in Western Pennsylvania. It is District 7 of the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association. History The Western Pe ...

Class 1A championship in 1965. From 1966 to 1968, he was an assistant with the

Pittsburgh Panthers The Pittsburgh Panthers, commonly also referred to as the Pitt Panthers, are the athletic teams representing the University of Pittsburgh, although the term is colloquially used to refer to other aspects of the university such as alumni, facul ...

, where he coached their

quarterback The quarterback (QB) is a position in gridiron football who are members of the offensive side of the ball and mostly line up directly behind the Lineman (football), offensive line. In modern American football, the quarterback is usually consider ...

s and

wide receiver A wide receiver (WR), also referred to as a wideout, and historically known as a split end (SE) or flanker (FL), is an eligible receiver in gridiron football. A key skill position of the offense (American football), offense, WR gets its name ...

s. He served as an offensive assistant for the

Princeton Tigers The Princeton Tigers are the athletic teams of Princeton University. The school sponsors 35 varsity teams in 20 sports. The school has won several NCAA national championships, including one in men's fencing, three in women's lacrosse, six in me ...

in 1969 and joined

Bobby Bowden Robert Cleckler Bowden (; November 8, 1929 – August 8, 2021) was an American college football coach. Bowden coached the Florida State Seminoles of Florida State University (FSU) from 1976 to 2009 and is considered one of the greatest college ...

's coaching staff for the

West Virginia Mountaineers The West Virginia Mountaineers are the athletic teams that represent West Virginia University in Morgantown, West Virginia. The school is a member of National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I. The Mountaineers have been a membe ...

, coaching the

offensive backfield The offensive backfield is the area of an American football field behind the line of scrimmage, and players positioned there on offense who begin plays behind the line, typically including the quarterback and running backs ( halfbacks and fullb ...

. Cignetti succeeded Bowden as the Mountaineers' head coach in 1976 and coached them through the 1979 season. Though the team had won the 1975 Peach Bowl, 32 of its players were seniors, and Cignetti had to rebuild the program. He had a record as West Virginia's head coach. In 1979, Cignetti was diagnosed with lymphomatoid granulomatosis, a form of cancer. He had a

splenectomy A splenectomy is the surgical procedure that partially or completely removes the spleen. The spleen is an important organ in regard to immunological function due to its ability to efficiently destroy encapsulated bacteria. Therefore, removal of ...

and spent 35 days in the hospital. Cignetti was fired after the 1979 season, but recovered from cancer. In 1982, Cignetti returned to IUP as the director of athletics. He became the head coach of IUP's football team in 1986. He coached IUP to a record from 1986 to 2005. Under Cignetti, IUP won the

Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference The Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division II level. The conference was originally formed in 1951 as the State Teachers C ...

West Division 14 times and did not have a losing season. IUP appeared in

NCAA Division II NCAA Division II (D-II) is the intermediate-level division of competition in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). It offers an alternative to both the larger and better-funded Division I and to the scholarship-free environment ...

's semifinals five times and in the championship game twice. In 1991, he was the Division II coach of the year. His team won 10 Lambert Cups, as the best Division II team in the eastern United States. Cignetti was inducted into the

in 2013. Also in that year, IUP renamed its football field in honor of Cignetti.

Personal life

Cignetti and his wife, Marlene, had four children. Frank Jr. played football for his father at IUP from 1985 to 1987. Cignetti Jr. is a former

offensive coordinator An offensive coordinator (OC) is a Coach (sport), coach responsible for a gridiron football team's offense (American football), offense. Generally, the offensive coordinator, defensive coordinator and special teams coordinator represent the second ...

and quarterbacks coach for many NFL and college teams, most recently the

. His son, Curt, was announced as the head coach for IUP on January 21, 2011, after serving four years as wide receivers coach and recruiting coordinator at the

University of Alabama The University of Alabama (informally known as Alabama, UA, the Capstone, or Bama) is a Public university, public research university in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, United States. Established in 1820 and opened to students in 1831, the University of ...

. Curt served as the head coach at

Elon University Elon University is a private university in Elon, North Carolina, United States. Founded in 1889 as Elon College, the university is organized into six schools, most of which offer bachelor's degrees and several of which offer master's degrees or ...

from 2016 to 2018, and in December 2018 was named the eighth head coach of

James Madison University James Madison University (JMU, Madison, or James Madison) is a public university, public research university in Harrisonburg, Virginia, United States. Founded in 1908, the institution was renamed in 1938 in honor of the fourth president of the ...

. In November 2023, Curt was named the head coach at

Indiana University Bloomington Indiana University Bloomington (IU Bloomington, Indiana University, IU, IUB, or Indiana) is a public university, public research university in Bloomington, Indiana, United States. It is the flagship university, flagship campus of Indiana Univer ...

. Cignetti died on September 10, 2022.

Head coaching record

Explanatory notes

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cignetti Sr., Frank 1937 births 2022 deaths American football ends College Football Hall of Fame inductees High school football coaches in Pennsylvania IUP Crimson Hawks football coaches IUP Crimson Hawks football players Players of American football from Armstrong County, Pennsylvania Pittsburgh Panthers football coaches Princeton Tigers football coaches West Virginia Mountaineers football coaches